U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced the recent award of $33.7 million in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grants to nine airports around the country to reduce emissions and improve air quality through the FAA’s Voluntary Airport Low Emission (VALE) and Zero Emissions Airport Vehicle (ZEV) programs.
The FAA is awarding $31.1 million in VALE grants to following airports:
Chicago O’Hare International, $3.6 million – to purchase and install 124 electrical charging stations. These stations will allow airlines to use electric-powered ground service equipment, including belt loaders, aircraft tractors, and baggage and cargo tugs. Many of these charging stations are multi-port stations that can potentially support up to a total of 326 pieces of electrical equipment.
Memphis International, $2.4 million – to purchase and install 11 ground-power units (GPUs) and 11 preconditioned air units (PCAs) for passenger gates.
George Bush Intercontinental Airport Houston, $1.5 million– to purchase and install five PCAs for passenger gates and 68 electrical ground support recharging ports.
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, $3.1 million– to purchase and install 23 GPUs, five PCAs and two air chilling units for passenger gates.
Los Angeles International Airport, $4 million– to purchase and install 9 GPUs and associated electrical infrastructure for remote parking sites.
Portland International Airport, $5.7 million – to purchase and install 27 PCAs at passenger gates.
San Francisco International Airport, $10.6 million– to purchase and install 5 GPUs and five PCAs and associated infrastructure at five remote maintenance stations.
Boise Airport, $200,000 –to purchase and install a solar-powered system to heat water for the terminal.
The remaining funds of $2.6 million were awarded in a ZEV grant to:
Indianapolis International – to purchase six electric shuttle buses for passenger service from terminal to terminal and three charging stations and required infrastructure needed to charge the vehicles.
Through VALE, airports are reducing ozone emissions by approximately 840 tons per year, which is equivalent to removing about 46,912 cars and trucks from the road annually. In fiscal year 2015, the FAA issued $23.4 million in VALE grants for 13 projects at 12 airports. Since 2005, the FAA has funded 92 VALE projects at 46 airports, which represents a total investment of $251 million in clean airport technology. That amount includes $196 million in federal grants and $55 million in local airport matching funds. This marks the second year the FAA has awarded ZEV grants that provide funding to replace hydrocarbon burning buses with electric buses.
The Airport Improvement Program (AIP) provides more than $3 billion in annual funding for projects that are vital to maintaining the safety, security, capacity, efficiency, and environmental stewardship of the nation’s airports. More than 3,300 airports are eligible for AIP grants benefiting commercial passengers, cargo operations, and general aviation activities throughout the nation.
